Colorado State Patrol and Coloradans Against Auto Theft have launched “Puff … Puff … Poof!” – a new campaign to remind residents of the illegal and dangerous practice of leaving cars unattended while warming up.

Let’s face it, most of us are guilty. When the temperature dips to bone-numbing temperatures, we like to warm up our vehicles before hopping in. his practice puts law enforcement on edge. For starters, it’s illegal in Colorado to leave a car running unattended. While police officers probably won’t cite residents for doing it, they warn that a running vehicle is a green light for thieves to snatch a car.

Colorado Springs police reported a decrease in stolen vehicles last month but the crime remains the city’s fastest-growing, according to Chief Pete Carey. Carey said vehicle theft has increased 20 percent this year. In January, the Police Department created a five man unit dedicated to the crime. The unit includes three detectives, a sergeant and an investigator with the Colorado State Patrol.

While temperatures flirt with single and negative digits, the last thing any driver wants to do is climb into a vehicle only a fraction warmer than the outside. But as tempting as it to warm up your car before you get in, Springs police warn that it makes you an easy target for crooks.

About Lockdown

Coloradans Against Auto Theft is a coalition of law enforcement agencies, insurance partners, LoJack and AAA Colorado. CAAT and the state auto theft task force efforts are funded in part by the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority (CATPA). CAAT was created to promote the cumulative statewide efforts in the prevention of auto theft.